Part of a hot tub found in F-Cove off Mantoloking Road inBrick Saturday during Clean Ocean Action's 'Waves of Action' day. / Gina Columbus/staff photo

BRICK — Wheelbarrows filled with beer bottles, piles of lumber and tires, and even parts of a hot tub were scattered throughout F-Cove since superstorm Sandy, leaving the marshland — that’s part of the Barnegat Bay Watershed area — fairly out of sorts.

But on Saturday, the disorganized puzzle of a marshland was being pieced back together by over 200 volunteers.

The event was part of Clean Ocean Action’s third Waves of Action day, a monthly initiative by the organization to repair and rebuild neighborhoods, parks, beaches and waterways or dunes affected by Sandy last October. Clean Ocean Action works to connect coastal community needs throughout the New Jersey and New York region with volunteers and other environmental, community and recovery organizations.

Saturday’s site projects ranged throughout coastal New Jersey communities as well as Long Island and Staten Island, New York.

Volunteers at the Barnegat Bay watershed cleanup in Brick showed up at Traders Cove Marina around 10 a.m., ready for work with thick gloves and giant garbage bags. Despite the steady rain and February chill, people stayed busy cleaning up F-Cove, Beaton and Sons Boatyard, Baywood Swamp at St. Lawrence Boulevard and Reedy Creek.

“It’s a lot of people’s garages,” said Tavia Danch, Clean Ocean Action program manager. “Marshes are great because they collect a lot of the debris, but obviously when we have a hurricane...the debris is a lot more substantial. So it’s a lot of extra lumber, docks and boats, the larger stuff.”

Lily Graff of Mantoloking and Elizabeth Mignon of Bay Head, both 15, often go sailing in the bay. Volunteering with Barnegat Bay Charities, they wanted to get F-Cove restored so they could return to their sailing spot this summer.

“It makes me feel better about it,” said Mignon on her volunteer efforts Saturday. “Even though it’s a little thing for us to do, it helps. The more hands there are, the easier it is.”

The Brick project was led by Save Barnegat Bay and The Trust for Public Land. Barnegat Bay Charities also provided support for organizing the event.

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“We’ve had so much incredible support from Brick Township, they set up a whole bunch of dumpsters; they provided us with a bus so we can shuttle the volunteers around ... they really were incredible,” said Danch.

The Trust for Public Land had been conserving land in the Barnegat Bay watershed since 1985, protecting nearly 12,000 acres, explained Anthony Cucchi, state director for Trust for Public Land. Since 1971, Save Barnegat Bay has been raising awareness on the importance of preserving land to maintain clean water in the Barnegat Bay watershed, according to a press release.

Danch said since marshes are soft and easy for people to sink through, Clean Ocean Action set up plywood paths for people to carry large piles of debris in wheelbarrows.

“It’s very important, from our perspective, to remove that stuff before the plants come in the spring and before the nicer weather, where access to those areas are really not going to be possible,” said Danch.

Danch said the Wave of Action days have been a massive volunteer effort, with people coming from near and far to restore affected communities.

“For frustrations on the volunteer end, they don’t know where to go, what they can do, but they know they want to do something,” said Danch. “And then on the other end, you have these people, these towns, that have been so devastated from the storms we’ve had this past year. It’s really hard for them, in the midst of everything else they’re doing to really be able to improve and direct volunteers, so it’s really great to be in the middle of that.”

The next Waves of Action day is March 23. For more information, visit fortheshore.org or call Clean Ocean Action at 732-872-0111.